Portable sanitizer dispenser

ABSTRACT

A portable sanitizer dispenser including a body that securely encloses a bottle of sanitizer, an attachment mechanism operatively attached to the body, and a dispensing mechanism operatively attached at a mouth of the bottle or at a bottom of the body. A method of using the portable sanitizer dispenser, by attaching the portable sanitizer dispenser to an object with an attachment mechanism operatively attached to a body, actuating a dispensing mechanism operatively attached to the body, and dispensing sanitizer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for dispensing sanitizing solutions. More specifically, the present invention relates to portable containers for dispensing sanitizing solutions.

2. Background Art

Many individuals carry around hand sanitizer in their bags or purses in portable and small containers. It is useful to sanitize hands after touching doors of busy businesses, subway poles, after shaking hands with individuals, or when a public bathroom does not have any soap to kill any viruses or bacteria that may have been transferred to the hands. Especially in today's social climate, with the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world and the risk of contracting the virus on surfaces or through contact with another individual, there is a need to quickly sanitize one's hands when out in public.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20120282011 to Francois discloses a wearable hand sanitizer dispenser including a sponge enclosed in a silicone case, which then is placed in a pocket located on a wristband. The silicone case has a plurality of self-sealing slits to control release of sanitizer and a plurality of refill apertures for allowing the user to fill it up with a large quantity of sanitizer or the like. The pocket also contains a plurality of openings to control release of sanitizer. When the pocket on the wristband is not compressed, the sponge inside the silicone case absorbs sanitizer so that inadvertent fluid leakage will not occur.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20070075091 to Tombazzi, et al. discloses a device of a hand sanitizer belt holder or a pen. The hand sanitizer belt holder has a holder body, a belt loop, and an aperture that attach to a belt and has an opening for accepting a bottle or container of hand sanitizer. The cap of the hand sanitizer bottle extends through the aperture so that the user can access the contents of the bottle of hand sanitizer. The pen has a first outer shell and a second outer shell that are attached to each other using a hinge. When the first outer shell and second outer shell are opened, a gel cartridge of sanitizer can be inserted into the pen. After the gel cartridge is inserted and the pen is closed, the pen has a slider that moves down a track for dispensing gel.

While portable designs exist, they may not always be the most convenient to use or wear. There remains a need for an easy-to-use hand sanitizer dispenser that is also portable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a portable sanitizer dispenser including a body that securely encloses a bottle of sanitizer, an attachment mechanism operatively attached to the body, and a dispensing mechanism operatively attached at a mouth of the bottle or at a bottom of the body.

The present invention provides for a method of using the portable sanitizer dispenser, by attaching the portable sanitizer dispenser to an object with an attachment mechanism operatively attached to a body, actuating a dispensing mechanism operatively attached to the body, and dispensing sanitizer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention are readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portable sanitizing dispenser;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a dispensing mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a front view of inserting a hand sanitizer bottle into the portable sanitizing dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the portable sanitizing dispenser;

FIG. 5A is a front upside-down view of a hand sanitizer bottle with a dispensing dome, and FIG. 5B is a front right side up view of a hand sanitizer bottle with a factory applied seal;

FIG. 6 shows examples of caps of the portable sanitizing dispenser;

FIG. 7 shows a view of a piercing mechanism on inside of a cap and a hollow channel that the sanitizer flows through; and

FIG. 8 shows examples of portable sanitizing dispensers with cell phone holders and wallets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a portable sanitizer dispenser, shown at 10 in FIG. 1. The portable sanitizer dispenser 10 includes a body 12 that securely encloses a bottle of sanitizer 14, an attachment mechanism 16 operatively attached to the body 12, and a dispensing mechanism 18 operatively attached at a mouth 20 of the bottle 14 or at a bottom 38 of body 12.

The body 12 is made of any suitable material such as plastic (including flexible plastics), leather, textiles, or metal or any suitable material, and can be any size, and preferably small enough to be easily carried by an individual but it can also be in a larger size to suit a particular use or industry. It can be easily carried by an individual anywhere they go.

The body 12 can be in the form of a pouch as shown in FIG. 3 with an opening 30 to receive the bottle 14. The body 12 can be flexible or include hinged parts or a flap 32 allowing a user to remove the bottle 14 as well as cover opening 30 to secure the bottle 14 within the body 12. As shown in FIG. 4, flap 32 can include a female button snap 34 operatively attached thereto that securely snaps with a male button snap 36 operatively attached at a corresponding location on the body 12 to secure the bottle 14 within the body 12. Other securing mechanisms can also be used (magnets, hook and loop, or any other suitable mechanism). The body 12 can completely surround and enclose the bottle 14, or it can include cut outs 22 so that portions of the bottle 14 are visible to view levels of sanitizer left. The body 12 can also include a cut out 22 such that the mouth 20 of the bottle 14 can be accessed in a first embodiment (in FIG. 1). In the second embodiment, the mouth 20 of the bottle 14 is not accessible from outside of the body 12.

The body 12 can be in any color, can include logos or designs, and can include additional features. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the body 12 can include operatively attached thereto a cell phone holder 58 or wallet 60. The body 12 can also include other features, such as a thermometer or storage for a mask, or a storage area for other items. The body 12 can have multiple uses besides holding the bottle of sanitizer 14 and be a fashion statement.

The bottle of sanitizer 14 can be any size that fits within the body 12 and can be made of plastics, metal, or any other suitable material. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the bottle 14 can include a seal 52 covering the mouth 20 that can be factory applied. The seal 52 can be made of foil or plastic and is puncturable to allow sanitizer to flow out of the bottle 14. The bottle 14 can further include a dispensing dome 54 operatively attached at a bottom end 56 of the bottle 14. The dispensing dome 54 is depressible to dispense sanitizer out of the bottle 14 and once released, air is drawn back in so that the bottle 14 is ready to dispense the next quantity of sanitizer.

The attachment mechanism 16 can be, but is not limited to, a belt clip (such as in FIG. 1), a loop for receiving a belt, a carabiner clip, or any other type of clip that can easily be secured to a belt, pants, a waistband, a pocket, a bag, or a backpack, or any other item desired or other place to carry on an individual's person. The attachment mechanism 16 can be made of plastic or metal. Various attachment mechanisms 16 are also shown in FIG. 8.

The dispensing mechanism 18 in one embodiment can include a flow mechanism 24 and cap 26, shown in FIG. 2. The flow mechanism 24 rests within a hollow 28 running through the cap 26. In a first resting position, the flow mechanism 24 blocks sanitizer in the bottle 14 from exiting the cap 26 (the flow mechanism 24 can exit through the hollow 28 through the cap 26). In a second depressed position, the flow mechanism 24 allows sanitizer to exit the bottle 14 through cap 26 (the flow mechanism 24 can be pushed up through the hollow 28). The portable sanitizer dispenser 10 is oriented such that the mouth 20 of the bottle 20 faces downward to allow sanitizer to flow with gravity, and an individual presses upward on the flow mechanism 24 to move the flow mechanism 24 to the second depressed position.

In another embodiment, the dispensing mechanism 18 includes dispensing cap 40 operatively attached to the bottom 38 of body 12, which can be a flip top/snap close lid 42 or a pull down/push up lid 44 as shown in FIG. 6, or any other suitable mechanism to seal the body 12. The dispensing cap 40 includes a piercing mechanism 46 with a hollow channel 48 shown in FIG. 7 on an inner side of the dispensing cap 40. The piercing mechanism 46 is essentially a sharp point that can penetrate the seal 52 on the mouth 20 of bottle 14. The hollow channel 48 then allows sanitizer to flow out of the bottle 14 and to the dispensing cap 40. In this embodiment, when the dispensing dome 54 is depressed, sanitizer flows through hollow channel 48 to the dispensing cap 40, where it can be dispensed conveniently using one hand into a user's hand.

The present invention provides for a method of using the portable sanitizer dispenser 10, by attaching the portable sanitizer dispenser 10 to an object with the attachment mechanism 16, actuating the dispensing mechanism 18, and dispensing sanitizer. As described above, the attachment mechanism 16 can be attached to many different objects, such as belts, pockets, bags, etc. In the first embodiment, the dispensing mechanism 18 can be actuated by moving the flow mechanism 24 from a first resting position to a second depressed position, allowing sanitizer to flow out of the bottle 14 and through the cap 26. In the second embodiment, the dispensing mechanism 18 can be actuated by depressing the dispensing dome 54 of the bottle 14 through the body 12, and flowing sanitizer through the hollow channel 48 to the dispensing cap 40. The dispensing cap 40 can also be toggled to an open position before actuating the dispensing mechanism 18. In either embodiment, sanitizer does not flow from the bottle 14 without actuating the dispensing mechanism 18, so the user does not have to worry about leaks. At any time, the bottle 14 can be removed from the body 12 to replace the bottle 14 with a second bottle 14 full of sanitizer, or the bottle 14 can be refilled through the mouth 20. Flap 32 can be opened on the body 12 to gain access to the bottle 14 for removal. FIG. 3 shows a view of the bottle 14 being inserted into the body 12. The bottle 14 is inserted mouth side down into the bottom 38 of the body 12. In the second embodiment, the piercing mechanism 46 pierces the seal 52 on the mouth 20 of the bottle 14 when a new bottle 14 is inserted in the body 12. Flap 32 can then be secured again with the female button snap 34 and the male button snap 36, or any of the other mechanism described above.

This method can be useful before and after shaking hands with another individual, before and after opening doors, using bathrooms, touching any object in public, or touching items in a store that may have been picked up by another person. The method allows for easy use of the portable sanitizer dispenser 10 because only one hand is needed to operate it.

Throughout this application, various publications, including United States patents, are referenced by author and year and patents by number. Full citations for the publications are listed below. The disclosures of these publications and patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used is intended to be words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible considering the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable sanitizer dispenser comprising: a body that securely encloses a bottle of sanitizer; an attachment mechanism operatively attached to said body, and a dispensing mechanism operatively attached at a location chosen from the group consisting of a mouth of said bottle, and at a bottom of said body.
 2. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said body is made of a material chosen from the group consisting of plastic, leather, textile, or metal.
 3. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said body is in the form of a pouch.
 4. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said body includes a flap having a securing mechanism for securing said bottle in said body.
 5. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 4, wherein said securing mechanism is a female button snap operatively attached to said flap that securely snaps with a male button snap operatively attached at a corresponding location on said body.
 6. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 4, wherein said securing mechanism is chosen from the group consisting of a magnet, and hook and loop.
 7. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said body includes cut outs such that sanitizer levels are viewable in said bottle.
 8. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said body further includes a cell phone holder, a wallet, a storage area, and combinations thereof.
 9. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said bottle includes a puncturable seal covering said mouth.
 10. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said bottle includes a depressible dispensing dome operatively attached at a bottom end of said bottle.
 11. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said attachment mechanism is chosen from the group consisting of a belt clip, a loop for receiving a belt, and a carabiner clip.
 12. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said dispensing mechanism includes a flow mechanism resting within a hollow running through a cap, wherein in a first resting position, said flow mechanism blocks sanitizer in said bottle from exiting said cap, and in a second depressed position, said flow mechanism allows sanitizer to exit said bottle through said cap.
 13. The portable sanitizer dispenser of claim 1, wherein said dispensing mechanism includes a dispensing cap operatively attached to said bottom of said body and including a piercing mechanism for penetrating said seal.
 14. A method of using a portable sanitizer dispenser, including the steps of: attaching the portable sanitizer dispenser to an object with an attachment mechanism operatively attached to a body; actuating a dispensing mechanism operatively attached to the body; and dispensing sanitizer.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said attaching step is further defined as attaching the portable sanitizer dispenser to an object chosen from the group consisting of a belt, pants, a waistband, a pocket, a bag, and a backpack.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein said actuating step is further defined as moving a flow mechanism of the dispensing mechanism from a first resting position to a second depressed position, and allowing sanitizer to flow out of the bottle and through the cap.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein said actuating step is further defined as depressing a dispensing dome of the bottle through the body, and flowing sanitizer through a hollow channel connecting the bottle to a dispensing cap.
 18. The method of claim 14, further including the step of removing the bottle from the body and replacing with a second bottle full of sanitizer.
 19. The method of claim 18, further including the step of opening a flap of the body to access the bottle, and securing the flap after the bottle is replaced.
 20. The method of claim 18, further including the step of piercing a seal on a mouth of the bottle upon insertion in the body.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein said method allows use of the portable sanitizer dispenser with one hand of an individual. 